Welcome to Stitching in Crosses and More ... 2014

Dear all,

Hello and welcome to the Stitching in Crosses and More ...

I have started this blog a few years back when my passion for cross stitch was reborn ... and I have been blogging and stitching ever since. 

This is me at my latest graduation (as I have previously graduated with Masters of Mathematics from Durham University)...

In the latest course I have studied the fascinating world of business, accounting and finance. I have graduated with a Distinction and an award from the ICAEW Northern society for being the best student on the Personal and Professional Skills module. My dream is to work by any means in the intriguing world of tax. But for now I remain a part-time librarian/ amateur artist (over 15 exhibitions)/ crafter/ designer. 

I manage ILiNi designs, a North East based handmade bags, accessories, and home décor business. You can find us on

Our website

Etsy

Facebook

The items we make range from luxury and unique leather handbags to small linen makeup bags (some including cross stitch designs!)

I take part in way too many SALs and I am an addict. I cross stitch anything from HAED to traditional embroidery. To get a better idea of what I stitch check out my finishes tab.

Some of the finishes I had ...

But there are many more already done and more to come ...

I will be hosting a giveaway, drawing on the 15^th of February 2014. Anyone can enter provided I can contact you, so leave an email or a blog url. I will update this post later on this week with the prize pictures. But for now check out all the other wonderful blogs that are here for the party at 2 Bags Full. Thanks to Vicki for organising this again.

The giveaway:

5 threaders

5 charms

1 chart and a chart booklet

2 small kits

a bookmark and speciality stitch charts

Hand dyed fabric with logwood and aluminium mordant by my mum

Once the winner is picked he or she can pick what part of the giveaway they want: all or some (and whatever is unwanted will roll over to the next drawing).

 

Wipocalypse - post #1 and my new Etsy shop ...

Dear all,

Before I get into the whole Wipocalypse update I would like to mention my new Etsy shop opening:

Click here

Here you can find some of the handcrafted (including cross stitched) items that mum, my sister and I make and sell through craft fairs and display cases here in the North East of England. I thought it is time to expand to a new market.

The selling info on the few items you have seen me create last year (they are not the only items on Etsy): 

Makeup bag. £9.99. Coming soon to Etsy.

Makeup bag. £9.99. Sold.

Makeup bag. £9.99. Available on Etsy.

Makeup bag. £9.99. Available on Etsy.

Biscornu. £5.00. Available on Etsy.

Biscornu. £5.00. Available on Etsy.

Biscornu. £8.00. Available on Etsy.

Biscornu. £8.00. Sold.

Hope you check my new shop out, and let me know what you think of it. There are also some handmade little angels, teaspoon ladies, and birds that I haven't shared the photos of here that my mum made. I am also working on adding more and more items. 

ILiNidesigns Etsy shop

Onto Wipocalypse ...

If you want to join in this SAL in 2014 click on:

This month I am meant to introduce myself, my projects, and any goals that I have for this year.

I think I might skip the intro and refer you back to the last years post:

Welcome to Stitching in Crosses and More ...

it was for the blog party and is still pretty accurate. Although I am now a member of 2 reading groups, rather than one, participated in another 2 exhibitions, graduated from Newcastle University, and now opened an Etsy shop (as can be seen from the start of the post).

Speaking of which if you would like to know more about it (although unfortunately the deadline for sign up has passed this year) click on:

Projects/Goals

Ongoing:

1) Good Heavens by Margaret Sherry [Goal: Complete]

This used to be a UFO till recently, so I am very proud for working on it in December.

December 2013

2) Christmas Candle - HAED [Goal: Complete another 5 3 pages]

So far 0/5 3 (goal) and 3/36 (total)

I decided to keep the same goal that I did not manage to meet last year. Lets hope I will be better this year.

December 2013

January 2014

January 2014 - closeup

3) Yiota's Xstitch: Field of Poppies [Goal: Complete]
Based on Van Gogh's painting

December 2013

January 2014

4) 'Picture of elegance'. [Goal: Complete]

Sara Moon from The World of Cross Stitching issue 181. This is my mum's birthday present from almost a year ago ... oh dear I am very late.

December 2013

5) Literate Dragon - HAED [Goal: complete the full SAL]

So far 0/4. 

December 2013

UFOs:

6) Xmas Chums [Goal: Complete by next Christmas ... as if]

I have begun it as a present for christmas 2 3 4 summers ago ... managed to stitch the entire face before realising I have stitched it 10 squares lower than the centre. How silly! I then started unpicking and got up to:

June 2012

7)  'Tending the Flock' [Goal: Pick up and work on even if just a little]

from Cherished Teddies and Friends. A matching pillow hopefully to one in my earlier  prehistoric posts.

Before 2012

8) Making Lickle Wishes [Goal: turn to a WIP]

April 2012

9) Cabin Fever by Dimensions (Gold Collection) [Goal: turn into a WIP]

September 2012

10) John Clayton: Venice [Goal: complete]

December 2012

New Starts:

As part of the Stitch from Stash initiative I will be starting from my huge stash list and the first up is 'Lean on Me'. My january start. 

11) JR01 Lean on Me by Judy Rossouw (anchor) [Goal: complete]

January 2014

Obviously I will be starting some more wips including another HAED (after all I have a new frame - a Christmas gift). 

And some giveaways to check out:

• Blogoversary Giveaway @ Sarah in Stitches:

Click here to enter.

• A Chart Giveaway of your choice @ Stitchers Anon

Click here to enter.

Until soon,

 

TUSAL - post #1 and the 2014 SALs/challenges ...

Hello all,

Happy New Year! Hope 2014 brings all of you lots of stitching and other nice things. I thought this year I will be on top of everything. Map out my commitments so to say. And there I am on the 2nd of January realising I am already behind on my 1st update of the year (I know, I know today is not the 2nd). Oh well better late than never.

My little jar: 

TUSAL - post #1

I need to free up the big one for the year ... so need to get rid of previous year's orts somehow. Maybe an ornament needs stitching. But I will cross that bridge when I get there. 

2014 SALs/challenges:

You might be curious to know that I have signed up to too many again. And my posting schedule (especially around the end of the month is becoming rather scary). So the challenges I have signed up to so far:

• TUSAL 
• Wipocalypse
• Stitch from Stash
• Smalls SAL
• I Love Library Books - Reading Challenge

All of them are clickable so that you can find out all the info and decide if you want to join them too. The first two I have done for a few years now, TUSAL as you can see is a monthly post of a jar with orts (with a very appropriate title ... Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long), and Wipocalypse will have an updated tab soon. And I will mention my goals/wips/projects for it in the first post, later on in the month.

The new ones see me join Stitch from Stash challenge (check the tab for info - but it is there to make me budget and not go spending all that hard earned cash on more stash), Smalls SAL (check the tab - from what I gather it is in place instead of the annual ornament SAL), and I Love Library Books will have a new tab soon too. This is a reading one, rather than stitching. There are various levels one can participate on. And I will be aiming for 'Adult'. Although 'Just insert IV' is very tempting. One can go up a level but not down. So 36 books to read in a year. That is 3 per month. The main rule is they have to be borrowed from the library. It doesn't require an update post ... so the list will go in the tab with the dates I finished reading books on.

There might be a few others coming... there is the 2013 SAL blog that hasn't seen much action recently, but might become active again. I might decide to do another Margaret Sherry one this year, and I also take part in a few forum ones from time to time.

Talk soon,

 

Wipocalypse - post #12 or the final report, including some previously unseen finishes & made up biscornus ...

Dear all,

This post is going to make me cry. Since I haven't done a starting point post this year... this is what I will do this year sort of thing ... I now will need to try to remember all my wips. And also since I was doing so poorly on my goals I changed half way to a broad goal of 25 finishes (regardless of size). So this included a lot of smaller projects... but the goal was met.

Progress:

Christmas Candle (HAED):

December 2012

December 2013

Good Heavens (Anchor kit by Margaret Sherry):

October/November 2011

December 2013

Picture of Elegance:

Sometime in 2011

December 2013

QS Literate Dragon (HAED):

Started in 2013

Field of Poppies (Yiota's XStitch):

Started in 2013

Untouched: 

Xmas Chums

Tending the Flock

Fizzy Moon card kit

Cabin Fever by Dimensions (Gold Collection)

Making Lickle Wishes

Venice by John Clayton

Finishes:

For detailed info check out the "Pre-2014 Finishes" tab. There are some finishes here that I haven't blogged about before (the finishes tab will be updated to have them in the next few days), including the finishing off of the biscornus:

December 2013

December 2013

November 2013 - makeup bag finish

November 2013 - makeup bag finish

November 2013 - closeup

November 2013 - makeup bag finish

October 2013

October 2013

September 2013

August 2013

August 2013 - front

August 2013 - back

Biscornu finish

Biscornu finish

Biscornu finish

August 2013

August 2013

July 2013

Makeup bag finish

July 2013

Biscornu finish

Biscornu finish

July 2013

Biscornu finish

Biscornu finish

Biscornu finish

July 2013 - Front

July 2013 - Back

Biscornu finish

Biscornu finish

Biscornu finish

Biscornu finish

June 2013

July 2013

June 2013

June 2013

June 2013

March 2013

March 2013

February 2013

February 2013

January 2013

January 2013

A few giveaways to browse and enter ...

• Two by Nancy:

The Twelve Days of Christmas $50 gift certificate giveaway

Click on Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe to enter by the 24th December 2013

Fourth Day of Christmas Give-away:

Click on Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe to enter by the 25th December 2013

• And one giveaway by Gaynor aka StitcherAnon

Click on Stitchers Anon to enter by the 26th December 2013

Speaking of Stitcher Anon do check out her charts tab ... pdfs are currently on sale. I couldn't resist and bought one (which has been tempting me for some time now)...

my purchase

I will now need to say my goodbyes. This post has taken me quite number of days, of uploading and editing. One thing I have learnt from this ... I am going to have a clear starting point for next year's Wipocalypse. So expect that sometime soon, and the update of the tab. You can see a few new SAL ones have sprung up already. I am starting them in 2014, as well as getting a new finishes tab then too (the other one is getting rather long). 

Till soon, when I might update you on craft fairs and such like (something I have been promising for some time now),